Parkinsonian Tremor News

TUESDAY, Nov. 29, 2016 – Researchers say they've identified a gene mutation that could be associated with early onset Parkinson's disease in white people. The mutation occurs in a gene that produces dopamine in the brain, and its impact is particularly strong in people younger than 50, according to the Iowa State University researchers. Rigidity and loss of muscle function in Parkinson's patients is linked with reduced levels of dopamine in the part of the brain that controls movement, the researchers said. Parkinson's is a progressive movement disorder that causes tremors and muscle rigidity. The researchers compared 289 people recently diagnosed with Parkinson's, but not on medication, and 233 healthy people. Overall, whites with one mutated version of the guanosine triphosphate cyclohydrolase-1 (GCH1) gene had a 23 percent increased risk of Parkinson's and developed disease symptoms ... Read more

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 12, 2016 – An inhaled version of the Parkinson's drug levodopa can help when patients experience symptoms between doses of the pill form of the medication, a new, small study finds. Levodopa can control the tremors, rigidity and difficulty maintaining balance and coordination associated with Parkinson's disease. However, within two years, as many as half of all patients have rapid and unexpected loss of motor control during "off" periods, when the drug wears off between doses, the researchers explained. "Off periods are considered one of the greatest unmet medical needs in the treatment of Parkinson's, and typically increase in frequency during the course of the disease," said lead researcher Michael Lipp. He is vice president of pharmaceutical development and technical operations at Acorda Therapeutics, the drug's maker and funder of the study. Inhaled levodopa could ... Read more

THURSDAY, Sept. 8, 2016 – Researchers say they've discovered a cellular defect that may be common to all forms of Parkinson's disease. The defect plays a major role in the die-off of a group of nerve cells whose loss is a hallmark of Parkinson's, according to the Stanford University team. The researchers conducted a series of experiments with cells from Parkinson's patients and healthy people. "We've found a molecular biomarker that characterizes not just familial cases of Parkinson's, in which a predisposition for the disease is clearly inherited, but also the condition's far more prevalent sporadic forms, for which the genetic contribution is either nonexistent or not yet discovered," said senior author Dr. Xinnan Wang, an assistant professor of neurosurgery. This defect prevents cells from quickly eliminating their internal power sources (mitochondria) when they wear out. So instead ... Read more

MONDAY, Aug. 29, 2016 – Scientists appear to have moved a step closer to developing a test that can detect Parkinson's disease in the early stages. The researchers developed a technique to identify a Parkinson's-associated molecule in spinal fluid samples from patients. In experiments, the technique accurately identified 19 of 20 samples from Parkinson's patients, plus three samples from people at risk for the disease, the study authors said. The technique detects a protein molecule called alpha-synuclein, which forms sticky clumps – called Lewy bodies – inside the brain cells of people with Parkinson's and some types of dementia, according to the researchers from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. The scientists also tested the new technique on 15 healthy people to see if there were any false-positives. There were none. The new test didn't detect disease in any of the healthy ... Read more

FRIDAY, Aug. 12, 2016 – The brain's prefrontal cortex may play a role in walking difficulties that afflict Parkinson's disease patients, new research suggests. The prefrontal cortex is involved in cognitive function, which includes thinking, reasoning and remembering. This new finding is a new approach in understanding these walking problems and may lead to new treatments, according to the researchers from Tel Aviv University in Israel. Parkinson's disease is a chronic, progressive movement disorder. Patients often walk with a shuffle, their steps alternately slow and fast. Sometimes, they freeze in place. Together, these symptoms are known as "Parkinson's gait." Along with reducing patients' mobility, impaired walking can lead to dangerous falls. Parkinson's patients were asked by the researchers to walk and do a mental task – such as naming fruits or doing subtraction – at the same ... Read more

TUESDAY, July 12, 2016 – A drug used to treat leukemia has shown initial signs of promise for advanced cases of Parkinson's disease, researchers are reporting. Experts stressed that the study was small, and primarily designed to see whether the drug – called nilotinib (brand name Tasigna) – is even safe for Parkinson's patients. It did appear "relatively safe" among the dozen patients studied, said Dr. Charbel Moussa, the senior researcher on the work. One patient had to withdraw from the study because of heart complications. But the drug was "well tolerated" in the remaining patients, according to Moussa, an assistant professor of neurology at Georgetown University Medical Center, in Washington, D.C. Plus, he said, there were hints of benefit. The researchers found signs that the drug boosted the brain's production of dopamine, a chemical that helps regulate movement. It also ... Read more

MONDAY, July 11, 2016 – A traumatic brain injury with loss of consciousness may increase the risk of developing Parkinson's disease, new research suggests. "It could be that the head injury itself initiates a cascade of effects that ultimately lead to Parkinson disease," said lead researcher Dr. Paul Crane, a professor of medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle. Or, Crane added, the head injury may not cause Parkinson's, but make it "more difficult for people who have sustained a head injury to recover, adjust to or deal with the cascade of events leading to Parkinson disease that are separate from the head injury itself." However, the study did not prove that a traumatic brain injury causes the risk of Parkinson's to rise. Parkinson's disease is a chronic and progressive movement disorder that affects the central nervous system. Symptoms worsen with ... Read more

THURSDAY, June 30, 2016 – Hundreds of clinics across the United States are marketing unapproved stem cell treatments for conditions ranging from aging skin to spinal cord injuries, a new study finds. In an online search, researchers found at least 570 clinics offering unapproved stem cell "therapies." They tend to be concentrated in a handful of states – including Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, New York and Texas – but are scattered across many other states, too. Most often, the clinics market stem cell procedures for orthopedic conditions, such as arthritis and injured ligaments and tendons. This does have science behind it, but is still experimental, medical experts said. In other cases with little or no supporting evidence, clinics hawked stem cell "facelifts" and therapies for serious conditions such as chronic lung disease, Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis. If ... Read more

MONDAY, June 27, 2016 – People who've received a blood transfusion can breathe a bit easier: A new study finds no evidence that degenerative brain disorders can be transmitted via donated blood. "This study provides reassurance to individuals who have received blood transfusions from patients with Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease," said Dr. Irving Gomolin, a geriatrician who reviewed the Swedish study findings. "It demonstrates that the transmission of these diseases via blood either is not biologically possible or, at worst, must be exceedingly rare," said Gomolin. He is chief of geriatric medicine at Winthrop-University Hospital in Mineola, N.Y. In the study, a team led by Dr. Gustaf Edgren, of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, tracked data on more than 40,000 patients in Denmark and Sweden. All of the patients had received blood transfusions between 1968 and 2012 from people ... Read more

MONDAY, June 20, 2016 – Rates of Parkinson's disease may be on the rise for U.S. men over the past three decades, and the trend could be tied to declines in smoking, a new study suggests. "I believe this will be the first of several reports in the United States to demonstrate what the Parkinson's Disease Foundation has come to realize – that the number of people living with Parkinson's is dramatically undercounted," said one expert who reviewed the findings, James Beck. He is vice president of scientific affairs at the Parkinson's Disease Foundation. In the new study, a team led by the Mayo Clinic's Dr. Walter Rocca tracked long-term data on people living in Olmsted County, Minn. The research showed that rates of Parkinson's disease nearly doubled for men between 1996 and 2005, and the increase was steepest for men aged 70 and older. Rates of a related condition called "parkinsonism" ... Read more

-- If you're not as steady on your feet as you once were, a number of medical conditions may be responsible. Here are possible reasons for poor balance, courtesy of Harvard Medical School: Having a central nervous system disorder, such as Parkinson's disease or multiple sclerosis. Having an inner ear condition that causes dizziness, such as Meniere's disease. Having vision problems, such as glaucoma, cataracts or macular degeneration. Having weakened muscles, notably those of the back, thigh or abdomen. Having nerve damage in the feet or legs. Read more

TUESDAY, March 22, 2016 – New research suggests that Parkinson's patients who are given antipsychotics to treat dementia and psychosis may be more likely to die early. However, the medications provide important benefits and the study authors aren't suggesting that these patients stop taking them. And it's still not clear exactly why there seems to be an increased risk of early death. "This [study] does not necessarily answer whether the drugs themselves lead to more deaths, or if it's instead the reasons they were prescribed," said Dr. Mark Baron, interim director of Virginia Commonwealth University's Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Center. He wrote a commentary accompanying the new study. Antipsychotic drugs, despite their name, are used to treat a variety of mental conditions other than psychosis, including anxiety and dementia. As many as 60 percent of long-term ... Read more

MONDAY, March 21, 2016 – Rosacea, a chronic skin condition that causes marked redness in the face, may be linked to an increased risk for Parkinson's disease, a large, new study suggests. Among more than 5 million Danes, those with rosacea were about twice as likely to develop Parkinson's as those without the skin condition, said lead researcher Dr. Alexander Egeberg of Herlev and Gentofte Hospital in Copenhagen. "Rosacea is a common facial skin disorder affecting up to 10 percent of light-skinned individuals, women in particular," he said. "It is possible that rosacea, or rosacea-associated features, such as facial flushing, may contribute to Parkinson's disease diagnosis at an early stage." The link appears to be associated with rosacea itself, not the medications used to treat it, the researchers said. They actually found reduced risk of Parkinson's among patients who took ... Read more

THURSDAY, March 10, 2016 – There is stronger evidence of a link between the herbicide Agent Orange and bladder cancer and thyroid problems among U.S. military personnel exposed to the chemical during the Vietnam War, a new Institute of Medicine report shows. However, there is little to no evidence of an association between the birth defect spina bifida and a mother's or father's exposure to Agent Orange, according to the report. The report committee also concluded that military personnel exposed to Agent Orange who have Parkinson's disease-like symptoms can file a claim for the condition. Agent Orange is an herbicide sprayed during the Vietnam War to kill off trees and vegetation that the enemy used as cover. The U.S. military sprayed millions of gallons of Agent Orange and other herbicides during the war. For this report, the authors looked at studies published between Oct. 1, 2012, ... Read more

TUESDAY, Jan. 19, 2016 – Physical therapy might not benefit people with mild-to-moderate Parkinson's disease, a new study suggests. Parkinson's disease is a movement disorder that interferes with the ability to do daily tasks. Typically, physical therapy is used in the later stages of the disease, but this study assessed its effectiveness in earlier stages. Researchers randomly assigned 762 patients with mild-to-moderate Parkinson's to either physical therapy and occupational therapy, or a "control" group with no therapy. Over eight weeks, the patients in the therapy group did about four 58-minute sessions. After three months, there was no difference between the therapy group and the control group in the ability to do daily tasks, the study found. The results were published online Jan. 19 in the journal JAMA Neurology. It's possible that mild-to-moderate Parkinson's disease may not ... Read more